They’re at it again.
In March, four Omaha, Nebraska police officers responded to a call that a man parked his truck on the wrong side of the street. But when they arrived and proceeded to question Octavius Johnson, who in turn argued back with the officers, the situation escalated quickly.
Now, thanks to a concerned neighbor taping the incident, disturbing footage showing the officers use excessive force against Johnson has surfaced, supporting his case and implicating the officers.
In the video above, you can see the officers surround Johnson as he is instructed to put his hands on the hood of the car. But instead of frisking or questioning him, one officer grabs the man around the neck and slams him violently to the ground. Two other officers rush Johnson and can be seen punching the man. And another officer restrains a man identified as Johnson’s brother as he protests that their actions are abuse.
The video falls closely in line with Johnson’s own account.
“He went around my neck, threw me to the ground, choked me out to the point where I couldn’t breathe or speak,” Johnson told KPTM-TV in Nebraska. “The officer told me to stop resisting, punched me in the face and said ‘do you want to die today.’”
Johnson’s brother, Juaquez, was also filming the incident, but his footage was confiscated by police.
Surprisingly, criminal charges were brought against two of the patrolmen involved in the incident. Omaha’s Police Chief condemned their acts in this statement:
“Many of the police actions that took place that day are in violation of our policies and do not represent how I want our officers to conduct themselves,” Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer told reporters at a press conference days later. “The final resolution will be fair to the citizens of Omaha, the Omaha Police Department and the specific employees involved so that we can move forward and restore any public trust that may have eroded with this incident.”
Wow, that’s something we don’t hear often. Thank goodness for that concerned neighbor and his video.
SOURCE: IAcKnowledge | VIDEO SOURCE: YouTube
